WelcomeIt’s April and the air is redolent with the drool-inducing scents of grilled meat. People across the land are firing up their barbecues and perfuming the air with the sweet smell of smoke. Our advice is to get out there now. Not tomorrow, not on the weekend – NOW. Our grilling season is too short; you better make the most of it. If you let a bit of spring snow slow you down then you’re just letting the bad guys win. This month we’re talking about marinades. Marinating involves soaking your meat in a tenderizing liquid prior to grilling. It makes meats more tender, more flavourful and is a healthier way to barbecue your food. The right marinade can turn a sow’s ear into well…a super tasty sow’s ear. But there’s a catch – it takes a bit of forethought. But you’re capable of forethought right? Sure you are.And speaking of forethought, keep an eye on your mailbox for a copy of our brand new 2008 barbecue catalogue. It’s 48 pages chock-full of barbecues, patio furniture and fireplaces. Everything you need to make your yard and home a comfortable temple of grilling. If you don’t see a copy in the next few weeks, you can download the whole thing from our slick new website at www.barbecuesgalore.ca

~ When marinating don’t use a plain steel or aluminum container to hold your food. Prolonged exposure to the aluminum can discolour your meat and give it a slight metallic taste. Use ceramic, glass or stainless steel containers whenever possible. Many use the resealable freezer bags for marinating and these do a wonderful job as they allow you to expose all the meat to the marinade.

~ Marinate in the fridge. The acidic elements of your marinade (juice, wine, vinegar etc) do not require warm temperatures to do their job of breaking down the proteins of the meat you’ll be grilling. So follow standard food safety procedures and keep your meat in the fridge until an hour or so before grilling.

~ Almost any marinade works well as a finishing or dipping sauce. The trick here is you need to boil the ‘used’ marinade for at least five minutes to eliminate all the potentially harmful bacteria it might have picked up from the meat it’s been mingling with lately. When boiling keep an eye on things. Marinades containing lots of sugar can go from liquid to a sticky solid very quickly if you’re not careful. Once your marinade is boiled and safe, you’ll be amazed at how much flavour it can add to your food post-grilling.

Place the steaks in a deep plastic container. Mix together the Caesar mix, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and BBQ Seasoning.

Season to taste with hot sauce and pour over the steaks turning to coat well.

Place in refrigerator to marinate for 2 to 4 hours.

Place the bacon onto the griddle and cook for 1 minute to render some of the fat. Add the onions followed by the button and Portobello mushrooms. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the apple cider vinegar and chives and season with salt, pepper and BBQ seasoning.

Preheat grill to medium high. Place the marinated steaks on the grill and grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare doneness.

Drizzle the steak sauce evenly over the steaks and crumble the Gorgonzola on top and close the lid for 1 minute to lightly melt the cheese.

Remove from heat and top with mushroom bacon and onion mix. Serve with your favorite potatoes and vegetables.

Meet Evan Stringer. He’s “retired”. Once he retired he took it easy for a grand total of 14 minutes and then started working for us. And, he’s been with us for eleven years now – lucky for us he was too old to work!Evan has been an incredibly valuable addition to our South store. He works in the back assembling barbecues, troubleshooting and doing anything else that needs doing. He’s a Yoda-like mentor to the younger staff who often seek him out for his wisdom on a vast array of topics. Recently, Evan built us a super cool propane tank display case by hand. Come into the store and check it out – it’s a beauty!

Evan cooks on a Napoleon Ultra Chef barbecue which he cleans EVERY time he uses it! He swears by cleaning with a brass brush and a bit of water while the grills are still slightly warm after cooking. He also keeps his barbecue covered all the time it’s not being used. If every one of our customers followed Evan’s routine – we’d never sell them any new barbecues because their old ones would last too long. Evan’s favourite marinade is Broil King’s bottled “Perfect Steak Marinade”. He uses it on steaks and chops (not vegetables – yuck). He marinates his meat almost every time he uses his barbecue (see all the reasons for marinating in the articles above). Mostly Evan is a steak and pork chop guy.

Evan’s been married for half a million years to the lovely Gail. They have two children: Laurie and Tim. Tim is in the picture below with his daughter Rory. Those two have been working hard on the stage adaptation of the sci-fi film classic ‘Total Recall’. Tim and Rory are playing the challenging dual-role of the rebel mutant leader “Kuato”. Break a leg you two!

Gotta Have ItCheck this out. A low-tech, low-cost way of cutting your marinating time and increasing your meal’s flavour! This little gizmo, appropriately - but not humbly - named “The Marinade Turbocharger” puts thin holes into your meats which allow the marinade to penetrate quicker and deeper into the muscle tissue. Easy to use – just stamp your meat all over with the Turbocharger and then use your marinade as you usually would. Simple and effective.

Question:Dear Doctor McGrillemup,As a rule, how long should I marinate my food prior to grilling?Signed, Swimmin’

Answer: Dear Swimmin, The anwer is: “that depends”. It depends on what you’re marinating and what you’re marinating it in. While you want maximum flavour from your marinade, you need to be aware that leaving some meats in a marinade will break the meat down too much and leave it slightly mushy. A stronger, more acidic marinade will require less immersion time than a less acidic marinade. For example a buttermilk or yogourt marinade will take longer to work than a vinegar or soy sauce marinade. Dense, hearty meats such as flank steak and roasts require the most marinating time (8-12 hours on average), chicken and poultry needs less time (3-6 on average) and fish, especially ‘flaky’ fish such as trout or tilapia requires very little time comparatively (1 hour). With the exception of light fish, almost no cuts of meat will suffer by marinating overnight in the fridge. However, you will need to experiment a bit with different recipes to find your optimal marinating times.

Next IssueNext month at the Hot Line we’ll be talking about flavouring with smoke. Specifically we’ll be talking about adding smoke flavour to your food using your gas barbecue. It’s amazing how fast this is gaining in popularity and we’ll try to give you a few basic instructions and some tips to get you started.

The World of BarbecueNo reader submissions this month so we’ll take this opportunity to remind you that, if you have a crappy old barbecue around, you should be entering our fifth annual “Worst Barbecue in Canada” contest. This year the prize is a super-swanky barbecue and, based on the number of entries we normally get – chances of winning are pretty darn good. (Remember: we need a picture of you and your barbecue – not just the barbecue). Check out our new website at www.barbecuesgalore.ca for details.We’re always hoping that you’ll send us some barbecue pictures or recipes we can share with our readers. Remember every barbecue picture we receive here at the Hot Line is worth a $25 gift certificate for use in any of our stores. If you know of an easier (and legal) way to earn $25 today I’d like to hear it.

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